Electric locomotive



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R. E IGKEMEYER. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVB Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

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Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

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UNITED STATES A i RUDOLF EIOKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE EIOKEMEYER FIELD COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of ,Letters Patent No. 565,407, dated August 4, 1896. A Application iled December 30, 1889. -Serial No'. 335,341. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Locomotives; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

In my applications for patent heretofore filed, Serial Nos. 297,775 and 334,487, I disclosed certain improvements in electric cars or locomotives which involved electric motors secured to and beneath the spring-mounted car-frame or truck-frame, and pendent therefrom, and I employ that feature of construction in my present organization, which has been devised with particular reference to locomotives operated by storage batteries, so as to afford a battery-chamber below the carlioor and ample space between the car-axles and the bottom of the car for the reception of battery-trays, and also for enabling batterytrays of unusual capacity to be readily inserted and removed endwise at the end of the car. I have also devised a system of spurgearing whereby smooth and easy operation is secured and involving apeculiar flexibility between the Vmotor-shaft and a counter-shaft and also between the latter and the driven car-axle, all of these being normally in the same horizontal plane, and said gearing is specially well adapted for use with light highspeed electric motors.

After describing my improvements in detail the features deemed novel will be specilied in the several clauses of claim hereunto annexed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l illustrates, mainly in plan view, a truck-frame having the motor, the gearing, and a batterytray arranged and applied in accordance with my invention, portions of the truck-frame being broken away and the gear-frames shown in section. Fig. 2 illustrates the same, mainly in side elevation, the car-wheels on one side and also one side of a portion of the axle-gear frame being removed. Fig. 3 is an end view with portions of the gear-frames shown in section. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the lower half of one of the gear-frames which carries a counter-shaft between the motor and the driven axle. Fig. 5, in sectional view, illustrates the gearing and the counter-shaft gear-frame on line X, Fig. 1, and it also shows the hanger by which that end of said frame is supported. Fig. 6, in lateral section, illustrates a car-truck having a receptacle for a battery-tray beneath the axle. Figs. 7 and S,

,in plan view and section, illustrate a modified arrangement of the motor with relation to the axles and a corresponding variation in the receptacles for battery-trays. Fig. 9 illustrates one of the rails and its grooved roller serving as a guiding-support for a batterytray.

The sill-frame or truck-frame A, on which the body of a car is mounted, is carried on springs in the usual manner, and it may be varied in its construction quite largely withoutaffecting the driving mechanism; but for affording battery-space between the axles and the bottom of a car the side pieces a have iirmly bolted to their lower edges cross-pieces c/ CL2 CL3, and these, with an upper cross-piece c4 and angle-braces c5 at one end, constitute a strong frame, which, when a car-body is mounted thereon, affords a battery-tray space nearly as long as the frame and of ample width and as high as the width of the side pieces c. The battery-tray B at one end is irregular in its outline, so that it may extend over the adjacent car-axle and conform to space occupied by portions of the drivinggearing. This tray is strongly constructed, and is divided into compartments by strengthening-partitions b and provided on vits under side with two or Athree longitudinal straprails b', each of which has a bearing on a series of rollers b2, mounted on brackets bolted to the cross-pieces c a2 c3, and each rail has several slight depressions or concave rollerseats, as at b3, so that when the tray is in its proper position it will be confined therein, because each of said rollers will occupy one of said seats. For bracing or securing -the tray against lateral movement, as well as for guiding it in and out, other rollers c are provided on brackets which project inwardly from the side pieces a. A fairly satisfactory tray bracing and guiding effect will be se cured, as shown in Fig. 9, by the use of grooved rollers, as at b4, and suitable rails, as at Zr", for running in the grooves of the rolls.

It is not new to locate battery-trays beneath the platforms and iioor of a car, nor to provide for the endwise application and removal of such trays at the ends of a car. Heretofore the trays have been comparatively small, and they were provided at their upper edges with longitudinal han gers containing rollers, which laterally overhung and rode upon supporting-rails which 'were pivotally secured beneath the car-body, thus separately hanging or suspending each of the several trays. Such a mode of mounting and carrying could not be relied upon with my large trays, which extend over the axles, and hence I have devised chambers or receptacles, upon the bottoms of which the heavy trays are supported and carried free from all racking strains as during the swaying movements of the ear.

So far as I know I am the first to devise a battery chamber or receptacle beneath a carfloor and admitting of this endwise insertion and removal of a battery-tray. The value of this improvement will be apparent in view as the great weight of such storage batteries of my large trays can carry, and the fact that a supply-truck carrying a battery-tray on similar rollers at the same height from the track as the bottom of the chamber can be run up to the end of a car on the same track and en able the transfer of the batteries from the truck to the ear to be promptly' and easily accomplished, and in like manner an exhausted battery can be as readily transferred from a car to a supply-truck or to a stationary platform provided with rollers and on the same level.

The several batteries of anyneeded capacity may be carried as permanent fixtures in the tray, and be permanently coupled, and after being properly placed for service on a car but a few moments are required for coupling the terminals of the already connected batteries with the usual fixed posts or terminals d adjacent to the motor. Should it ever be desirable, on account of the great weight of the batteries, to employseveral small trays more labor and time would necessarily be expended in coupling and uncoupling the batteries, but all the other advantages referred to would be available.

The distribution of the great weight of the batteries over both axles e and c' is also desirable, and an unusually large battery-space is afforded.

If the car-wheels be of suiiiciently large diameter to afford suitable space between the axles and the ground, a battery chamber or receptacle may be rigidly suspended from the truck-frame below the axles, as shown in Fig. 6, and in like manner be made accessible at the end of the truck or car for receiving and discharging the battery-trays into and fromsaid receptacles in accordance with that portion of my invention. In this construction the top of the truck-frame A would preferably be in diiferent horizontal planes, as indicated; or, in other words, the frame is so shaped as to afford seat-space over the wheels and an intervening floor-space.

It will be obvious that with long cars, requiring two trucks, and a car-body mounted thereon in the usual manner, the geared ends of the trucks should be arranged toward each other, and thus render the tray-chambers in both trucks equally accessible.v

In electric locomotives operated by linewires heavy slow-speed motors can be most profitably employed, but if storage batteries be carried by the car their great weight renders it very desirable that the motor and its gearing should be as light as possible, and hence I have not only so arranged the driving mechanism as to afford as much battery-space as possible, but I have organized spur-gear ing specially well suited for lightfweight high-speed motors, whether driven from storage batteries or from line-wires.

I have referred to the cross-piece a" and its angle or corner braces ai at one end of the frame, and it will be seen that the electric motor C is bolted to the under side of the cross-piece a, so as to be pendent from and wholly supported by the spring-mounted truck-frame A, and the motor-shaftf is in the same horizontal plane as the driven car-axle c, and power is communicated to said axle by the intervening counter-shaft D, which is also in the same horizontal plane. The electric motor here shown is of the type disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 358,340, and also the same as those described in my pending applications for patent, Serial Nos. 297,775 and 334,487, said machines being preferred because they are so organized as to develop no appreciable external magnetic field.

The driven axle c carries a large spur-gear g near one of the car-wheels, and this is inclosed by a gear-frame E, mounted on and carried by the axle and braced against rotation by the brace-beam g', which extends to the second axle e', as shown in my prior application, Serial No. 3345487, with a difierently-arranged gearframe.

The counter-shaft D carries at one end a pinion h, which engages with the large gear g on the axle c, and at the opposite end of said shaft there is a large spur-gear 7L', which is engaged by the pinion t' on the motor-shaftf.

The counter-shaft D is c'arried by or in a gear-frame F, which at one end, below the pinion 7L, is supported on and hinged to the lower portion of the gear-frame E, the pivot of the hinge connection being at right an,- gles to the counter-shaft. The opposite end of the counter-shaft gear-frame F incloses IOO IIO

its appropriate end of the car.

the gear h', as well as the motor-pinion z', and it is supported from the truck-frame by a flexibly-jointed pendent bow-shaped hanger l, having a ball-and-socket joint l Z at top and bottom, the upper socket being in a bracket Z2, secured to and projecting laterally from the end of the motor-frame, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3, and the lower socket being in a bracket pendent from the gear-frame F; and it will be seen at Fig. 5 that the centers of these two ball connections are in line with the pitch-line of the motor-pinion 'L' and the spurgear h. These ball-and-socket connections are preferred to any other, but other loosejointed connections may be employed without departure from my invention. The teeth of all these spur-gears will preferablybe slightly convex at their bearing-faces from end to end, so as to enable a slight rocking movement of one gear on another. For bracing the motor below its armature-shaft and relieving its bolts from rocking strains a pair of horizontal braces m 'm' are extended from the lower portion of the motor to the adjacent cross-piece a or under portion of the truck-frame. Upon the brace m', near the gear h', there are two vertical posts m2 m2, between which the adjacent portion of the gear-frame F is located and loosely confined for restricting that end of said frame F against undue lateral movement.

It will be seen that the location of the motor between the driven axle and the end of the truck or'car is only essential in connection with battery-tray space extending from the opposite end of the truck beyond the driven axle, and it is obvious that precisely the same spur-gearing and gear-frames would be employed if the motor was suspended between the two axles, and in that case, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the tray-space would be divided into two parts, with which two trays B and B could be employed, each of which would be inserted and withdrawn from In these Figs. 7 and 8 the several parts are appropriately designated by the letters of reference which were applied to the corresponding parts in the other iigures.

WVith the gearing here shown the speed of the driven axle can be reduced to any desired degree, as compared with the speed of the motor, and hence a light high-speed motor can be successfully employed, and it will be seen that when the truck-frame and car-body rocks laterally on its car-springs, causing the motor-gear i to rise and fall, the gear h can and will conform to all of its movements, because the adjacent end of the gear-frame F is suspended and pivotally supported from the car body or truck or from the frame of the motor, which is irmly bolted to the truckframe. The opposite end of the gear-frame F, being pivoted on and supported by the axle-gear frame E, which is in turn supported on the driven axle, causes the counter-shaft pinion h and the large gear g to rise and fall together during such tilting and other movements of the driven axle as are incident to uneven tracks, switch-frogs, (itc.

lt is of course desirable to protect all of the gearing from dust and dirt, and this is well provided for by me, although the axle-gear frame has an annular opening freely occupied by one end of the counter-shaft frame, and so also is there a similar opening in the counter-shaft frame at the motor-shaft, but these openings may readily be tightly closed by the use of flexible gaskets of canvas or rubber.

As hereinbefore stated, my prior application,Serial No. 334,487, disclosed a gear-frame mounted upon one axle and braced from the other axle, but l consider this feature of special value, in combination with a suspended motor and counter-shaft, located between one axle and the end of a car or truck, as in my present organization.

Having thus described my improvements, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In an electric car or locomotive, the combination with the longitudinal or side pieces of the truck-frame, of lateral or cross pieces, below the side pieces and firmly secured thereto, rollers on said cross-pieces, and a battery-tray provided with longitudinal rails for bearing upon said rollers, substantially as described, the vertical space above said crosspieces, and the lateral space between the carwheels, affording extensive vertical and lateral battery-space, accessible at the end of the car for the insertion and removal of the tray.

2. In an electric car or locomotive, having a storage-battery chamber beneath the cariioor and accessible at the end of the car in combination with a battery-tray, and rollers for supporting and guiding the tray during its endwise insertions to and its removal from said chamber, said tray being provided with concave roller-seats, occupied by the rollers, when the tray is in proper position.

3. ln an electric car or locomotive, the combination of an electric motor, a car-axle having a gear-frame mounted thereon,and a counter-shaft between said axle, and the motor, geared at its ends to the motor, and the axle, respectively, and at one end, supported by and hinged to the axle-gear frame, and at its opposite end supported independently of the axle, by a flexibly-jointed hanger.

4. In an electric car or locomotive, the combination of an electric motor, suspended at and from one end of a car or truck, a caraxle, an intervening counter-shaft, respectively geared to the motor, and to said axle, a gear-frame carried independently of the motor by said axle, projecting toward the end of the car, and braced from the axle at the opposite end of the truck-frame, substantially as described.

5, In an electric car or locomotive, the combination of a pendent electric motor, bolted IOO IIO

to and suspended from-011e end of a springmounted truck-frame, an axle, fn flexiblymountedeounte1-shaft, parallel with, in the same horizontal plane as, and geared to, the motor-shaft, and the axle, and braces extending from the lower portion of the motor, be- Death the counter-shaft :md axle to the under side of the truck-frame, substantially as de scribed,

RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER.

lVitnesses:

R. EICKEMEYER, Jr.,

P. MOFFAT. 

